Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
Cryoablation
Summary
Cryoablation is a process that uses extreme cold to destroy tissue. Cryoablation is performed using hollow needles (cryoprobes) through which cooled, thermally conductive, fluids are circulated. Cryoprobes are positioned adjacent to the target in such a way that the freezing process will destroy the diseased tissue. Once the probes are in place, the attached cryogenic freezing unit removes heat from ("cools") the tip of the probe and by extension from the surrounding tissues.
Ablation occurs in tissue that has been frozen by at least three mechanisms:
formation of ice crystals within cells thereby disrupting membranes, and interrupting cellular metabolism among other processes;
coagulation of blood thereby interrupting bloodflow to the tissue in turn causing ischemia and cell death; and
induction of apoptosis, the so-called programmed cell death cascade.
The most common application of cryoablation is to ablate solid tumors found in the lung, liver, breast, kidney and prostate. The use in prostate and renal cryoablation are the most common. Although sometimes applied in cryosurgery through laparoscopic or open surgical approaches, most often cryoablation is performed percutaneously (through the skin and into the target tissue containing the tumor) by a medical specialist, such as an interventional radiologist. The term is from cryo- + ablation.
Prostate cryoablation is moderately effective but, as with any prostate removal process, also can result in impotence. Prostate cryoablation is used in three patient categories:
as primary therapy in patients for whom sexual function is less important or who are poor candidates for radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP, surgical removal of the prostate);
as salvage therapy in patients who have failed brachytherapy (the use of implanted radioactive "seeds" placed within the prostate) or external beam radiation therapy (EBRT); and
focal therapy for smaller, discrete tumors in younger patients.
Cryoablation has been explored as an alternative to radiofrequency ablation in the treatment of moderate to severe pain in people with metastatic bone disease.
Official source
About this result
This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.
Ontological neighbourhood
Related publications (11)
Related concepts (8)
Arrhythmia
Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults – is called tachycardia, and a resting heart rate that is too slow – below 60 beats per minute – is called bradycardia. Some types of arrhythmias have no symptoms. Symptoms, when present, may include palpitations or feeling a pause between heartbeats.
Ablation
Ablation (ablatio – removal) is the removal or destruction of something from an object by vaporization, chipping, erosive processes, or by other means. Examples of ablative materials are described below, including spacecraft material for ascent and atmospheric reentry, ice and snow in glaciology, biological tissues in medicine and passive fire protection materials. In artificial intelligence (AI), especially machine learning, ablation is the removal of a component of an AI system.
Cardiac electrophysiology
Cardiac electrophysiology is a branch of cardiology and basic science focusing on the electrical activities of the heart. The term is usually used in clinical context, to describe studies of such phenomena by invasive (intracardiac) catheter recording of spontaneous activity as well as of cardiac responses to programmed electrical stimulation - clinical cardiac electrophysiology. However, cardiac electrophysiology also encompasses basic research and translational research components.